Giants Rumors

Giants Acquire Will Smith

By Tim Dierkes | August 1, 2016 at 3:37pm CDT

The Giants acquired left-handed reliever Will Smith from the Brewers, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. The Brewers will receive minor league pitcher Phil Bickford and catcher Andrew Susac, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The trade is now official, according to the Brewers.

Smith, 27, has a 3.68 ERA, 9.0 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.23 HR/9, and a 33.3% groundball rate in 22 innings for the Brewers this year. He dealt with a torn LCL in his knee in March, making his season debut on June 2nd after rehabbing the injury. Notably, the southpaw is exhibiting nearly a two-tick decline in his average fastball as against his prior numbers, and that remains a concern. The knee is an obvious question mark in that regard, though certainly it’s possible that Smith will just need to continue building back full body strength after the injury.

Health is always an important factor, but never more than when making an investment in a player that goes into the future. While San Francisco won’t be promising any future salary to Smith, they were buying into his control rights and paid to do so. He is under team control through 2019 as an arbitration eligible player. That contract status also conveys some real upside, especially if Smith can get back to his former trajectory. He was particularly tough in 2015, with a 2.70 ERA and 12.9 K/9.

The first-place Giants have received a middling 3.76 ERA from their relievers, and paid a trade deadline premium to acquire the controllable Smith. Drafted in the seventh round by the Angels in 2008, Smith was dealt to the Royals in the 2010 Alberto Callaspo trade. Later, after the 2013 campaign, the Brewers acquired him for Nori Aoki.

Now, Milwaukee has cashed in on the southpaw — in addition to moving late-inning righty Jeremy Jeffress in a separate trade. The haul seems to be rather promising, and swaps out the valuable-but-risky seasons remaining on Smith’s control rights for many more years of control on two solid young assets.

Bickford, 21, was drafted 18th overall by the Giants last year and is currently working at High-A. In their midseason prospect rankings, Baseball America had Bickford 50th overall, while MLB.com ranked him 65th. BA says Bickford’s fastball is known for its movement, and he throws a plus slider. The jury is out on whether he’ll wind up a reliever. Bickford had been drafted tenth overall by the Blue Jays in 2013, but did not sign.

Susac, 26, could take over as the Brewers’ starting catcher if Jonathan Lucroy is traded today. Since being drafted in the second round in 2011, Susac has been blocked by Buster Posey. He did get some Major League experience in 2014 and ’15, but has spent all of this year at Triple-A. He’s hitting .273/.343/.455 in 239 plate appearances at that level.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Deadline Day Rotation Rumors

By Jeff Todd | August 1, 2016 at 2:31pm CDT

While we’ll certainly break out any stories that seem to have some helium, we’ll use this post to keep tabs on less pressing developments in the market for starting pitching:

The Pirates are talking to the Yankees about Ivan Nova, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
The Marlins are now looking for another starter after sending Colin Rea back to the Padres, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
Angels lefty Hector Santiago is still on the Tigers’ radar, along with Hellickson, per Morosi (via Twitter). Santiago has been talked about a decent bit in recent weeks, but we haven’t heard very many strong connections. Los Angeles is likely willing to deal him in the right situation, but surely puts a high value on a useful starter who is controllable beyond the year.
The Astros are mostly just “dabbling” in the market for starters, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Edinson Volquez of the Royals represents one possible target, though Houston is said not to be terribly interested in the veteran righty.
While we haven’t heard much in the way of specifics, the Cubs are said to be eyeing an impactful rotation addition, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that’s still the case. (He adds that the team prefers not to overpay for a left-handed-hitting outfielder, which is also on their wish list.)
The Phillies may well hold onto righty Jeremy Hellickson, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark tweets. Philly hasn’t changed its asking price — last we heard, at least one quality prospect — but the market is changing. The Giants and Tigers aren’t in the bidding, per Stark, while the Rangers and Blue Jays have other names higher on their priority lists. With that being said, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that Detroit is still looking at Hellickson, among other starters, as they seek to add to their rotation.

Latest On Rays’ Starting Pitchers

By Jeff Todd | August 1, 2016 at 2:26pm CDT

Here’s the latest on the Rays’ starting pitching trade candidates, several of whom have been discussed quite a bit in the run-up to the deadline. There’s nothing firm as of yet, but the Rays seem to be weighing offers on several arms.

In addition to the Giants and Pirates, the Dodgers have interest in Moore, per Rosenthal (via Twitter). Other teams, too, may be after the southpaw.
The Giants are still working on a deal involving Moore, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
The Dodgers remain in pursuit of Tampa Bay’s hurlers after adding Rich Hill, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets. Of course, L.A. may have less willingness to move its own young arms after giving up three in that swap.
The Pirates are still looking at Rays starters, with lefty Matt Moore the primary target and righty Jake Odorizzi also of interest, per Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). Pittsburgh has dealt away closer Mark Melancon, but landed a strong major league relief arm in that trade and is evidently serious about upgrading its rotation now and in the future. It certainly looks to be an interesting deadline strategy from GM Neal Huntington, but it remains to be seen whether anything else will get done over the next two hours.
Also checking in with Tampa Bay on arms are the Astros, as Chris Cotillo of SB Nation and MLB.com’s Jon Morosi have noted (Twitter links). As things stand, though, it doesn’t seem as if there’s much momentum toward any kind of agreement between the teams.

Earlier Notes

Continuing their prior dialogue, the Rays and Dodgers are in talks on Tampa Bay’s starters, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. While most of the Rays’ starters have been chatted about in one way or another over recent weeks, staff ace Chris Archer has been most closely tied to Los Angeles, though it’s not clear at this stage whether he’s the focus.
The Rays and Giants are still discussing lefty Matt Moore, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). We covered that story last night — check here for details. Tampa Bay is requesting two top prospects, per Crasnick’s report.

Relief Pitching Deadline Day Rumors

By Jeff Todd and Tim Dierkes | August 1, 2016 at 2:10pm CDT

The market for relievers is always moving on deadline day, as teams look to add pen pieces that will bolster their depth down the stretch. Fernando Abad is off the board, having been traded to the Red Sox today. We’ll keep tabs on the remaining relievers here:

The Orioles and Marlins are shopping for a low-end left-handed reliever, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman feels the Braves’ Hunter Cervenka could be one such candidate, while ESPN’s Jayson Stark names Cervenka as a last-minute target for the Fish.
Sherman also notes that the Rangers are among the teams looking at Braves righty Jim Johnson. The Braves have kicked around Johnson as well, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday, but nothing appears close.
While they are also pursuing larger targets, the Giants have perused the second tier of the relief market, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). While the top targets have perhaps mostly already been traded, San Francisco has scouted the Brewers’ strong group of relievers as well as increasingly valuable Rockies southpaw Boone Logan — though last we heard he may not be traded. Jeanmar Gomez of the Phillies is another name the Giants have checked, though he too isn’t sure to be dealt. And even as the Giants talk with the Rays on starter Matt Moore, the club has also watched right-handed swingman Erasmo Ramirez, per Crasnick.
The Astros are kicking around some left-handed reliever options, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). That’s arguably the team’s biggest area of need. Some of the names mentioned include Logan and Jake McGee of the Rockies and the Brewers’ Will Smith — all of whom are at or near the remaining market for relief southpaws. It’s not immediately clear whether any are real options at this stage, as Crasnick notes that nothing has “materialized” to this point.

Mets The Favorites For Jay Bruce

By Steve Adams | August 1, 2016 at 9:17am CDT

The non-waiver trade deadline is just under nine hours away, and rumors/transactions figure to be flying around quickly today. Reds outfielder Jay Bruce remains one of the likeliest candidates to be dealt between now and the 4pm ET deadline. As of Sunday, the Giants were said to be making a “strong push” for Bruce, who is also said to be a prime target of the Mets. Bruce has also drawn interest from the Indians, Dodgers and Rangers, among others, over the past few days, and the Rays have at times been mentioned as a possible factor in three-team trade scenarios involving Bruce.

We’ll keep track of all the day’s Bruce rumors here in this post…

Morosi now tweets that the Mets and Reds have made progress on a deal involving Bruce.
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the Mets are the favorites to land Bruce, but the Rangers and Giants are still in. Talks could stretch into the afternoon, he notes.

Earlier Updates

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports/MLB.com tweets that the Mets remain in active talks with the Reds as of Monday morning. ESPN’s Jayson Stark also tweets that conversations with the Mets remain active, while talks with the Giants and Dodgers are currently in “slow mo.”
Heyman tweets that the Mets don’t seem to have heard anything on Bruce this morning (Twitter link). He also tweets that the Giants haven’t heard anything about Bruce being dealt this morning.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Reds have “found a match” for a Bruce trade and expects Cincinnati to trade Bruce to a National League club this morning. That team is not the Dodgers, according to Nightengale. The Giants and Mets are the two non-Dodgers NL clubs that have been most heavily linked to Bruce in the past day or two.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets the Giants, Mets, Indians and others have been in on Bruce recently. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, meanwhile, lists the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Rangers and Blue Jays all as teams that still have some interest in Bruce as of Monday morning.

Giants Pursuing Rays’ Matt Moore, Making “Strong Push” For Jay Bruce

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2016 at 10:07pm CDT

11:36pm: With several notable names already gone from the relief market, the Giants are “making [a] late and strong push” to land outfielder Jay Bruce from the Reds, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). San Francisco has been variously rumored to be in and out on Bruce in recent days, but it seems that the club is a serious contender for his services at this late stage.

As with Moore, Bruce is reportedly in play for a number of other contenders, including the Dodgers. The power-hitting right fielder is controllable for 2017 by way of a $13MM club option, so he’d represent an asset for next season as well with the Giants set to lose Angel Pagan to free agency.

10:07pm: The Giants are pursuing a deal for Rays lefty Matt Moore, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). It remains uncertain, he notes, whether San Francisco has the right prospect pieces to work out a deal for the controllable southpaw.

It’s long been unclear just where the Giants’ focus is with the trade deadline nearing. We’ve seen reports connecting the club to starters, relievers, outfielders, and infielders — with the last spot seemingly already covered by the recent acquisition of Eduardo Nunez.

Though the focus has been said to have shifted to the pen, with an eye also on picking up a slugging outfield piece, San Francisco has continued to look into a broad and fluid market for rotation pieces. Moore holds an interesting place in that picture, as he is one of many controllable arms that could be available, but need not be traded by their current teams.

Tampa Bay has been targeted by teams interested in starters because the team is out of the race and possesses a variety of pitchers with relatively lengthy and affordable control rights. While other organizations may be hesitant to deal their better arms, the Rays could do so without compromising their depth.

Still, the price tag won’t be low, and the Giants arguably lack the kind of premium prospect assets that would motivate the Rays. Indeed, the club is requesting a player that is currently on San Francisco’s active roster, per Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (via Twitter). Infielders Joe Panik and Matt Duffy would be the most sensible fits, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle observes on Twitter, though it should be noted that he is making only an analytical point rather than suggesting either or both have been discussed.

Adding to the intrigue, the Rays are also said to be negotiating on pitching with the Dodgers, who are currently neck-and-neck with their heated rivals in the NL West. There are other contenders in the mix, too, and other pitchers reportedly on the table. Jake Odorizzi and Chris Archer have been those most mentioned, though theoretically Drew Smyly could also be moved.

Moore, who recently turned 27, is perhaps the toughest player to value from that group. He has the talent and contract to be valued quite highly, but has posted uneven results since returning last year from Tommy John surgery. He has posted strong results over his last seven outings, permitting only nine earned runs over 40 2/3 innings in that span, though he registered only a 25:14 K/BB ratio along the way.

On the year, Moore owns a 4.08 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 130 innings. That last statistic is notable, as he has previously struggled to limit the free passes, though ERA estimators aren’t as convinced (4.50 FIP, 4.67 xFIP, 4.41 SIERA in 2016) as the scouts may be that Moore has returned to being a frontline starter. While he isn’t throwing quite as hard as he did early in his career, Moore has restored most of his velocity with a 92.9 mph average on his four-seam fastball.

The early-career extension signed by Moore held out the promise of becoming one of the best contracts in baseball. It hasn’t quite turned out that way, as the cheapest years were marred by injury. But it still holds plenty of appeal: Moore is owed just $5MM for all of 2016, and can be controlled through 2019 through a series of club options that total to just $26MM.

Giants Not Pursuing Jeremy Hellickson

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | July 31, 2016 at 9:15pm CDT

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Giants’ interest in Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson has been overstated (Twitter link). San Francisco isn’t currently in the mix for Hellickson, says Crasnick, despite prior connections. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, Hellickson left his last start after bruising his hand at the plate, but the issue seems to be a minor one. Zolecki notes that, in addition to the Orioles — who could be out of the market after acquiring Wade Miley — clubs including the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Marlins have sent scouts to watch Hellickson’s recent outings.

Jay Bruce Rumors: Saturday

By Jeff Todd | July 30, 2016 at 5:19pm CDT

Since it’s probably fair to assume we’re going to learn quite a bit of new information on Reds outfielder Jay Bruce today, we’ll go ahead and kick off the weekend’s deadline chatter with a post to house it. You can check back on last night’s whirlwind series of reports right here. Bottom line: there was talk of movement with the Dodgers, possibly involving Yasiel Puig and/or a third team, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet.

Here’s the latest on the veteran slugger, who is putting up career-best numbers at the plate and comes with another season of control via a $13MM club option:

Rosenthal tweets that the Mets and Reds continue to discuss a Bruce swap, but nothing is close at this time.
The Mets are “very involved” in the pursuit of Bruce, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link). New York, of course, discussed Bruce with Cincinnati at last year’s trade deadline but ultimately secured Yoenis Cespedes instead.
Stark reports that the Reds aren’t asking for elite prospects for Bruce but want two or three good players from the next tier down (Twitter link).

Earlier Updates

The Rangers have at least “checked in” on Bruce, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). Texas could be a fit with Prince Fielder out for the year and Shin-Soo Choo dealing with ongoing back issues, though Crasnick notes that pitching remains the priority.
The Mariners were said yesterday to be both out and then in on Bruce, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says (Twitter links) that there’s nothing happening on that front (though the teams are discussing shortstop Zack Cozart). Another team with questionable interest is the Giants, and Rosenthal suggests that they are still kicking around the idea of adding Bruce. The idea would be to slot his bat into the outfield mix now, and then use him as a replacement for free agent-to-be Angel Pagan in 2017.
Though the Dodgers are still involved on Bruce, last night’s chatter of a three-team swap is dead, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). It was never entirely clear just what that scenario might have looked like, though it seemed that Puig was a piece of the picture.
Bruce’s market represents a “moving target,” Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. (Those of you who followed yesterday’s frenzy will surely understand this.) As things stand as the weekend begins, the Orioles are out, per Heyman. The Nationals are focused first on improving their bullpen, though seemingly remain involved. That leaves the Dodgers as the obvious suitor, with the Mets and Mariners among the other organizations that have at least some ongoing interest in Bruce.

Giants Activate Hunter Pence, Designate Ramiro Pena

By Jeff Todd | July 30, 2016 at 1:41pm CDT

The Giants have activated outfielder Hunter Pence, who had been out after undergoing surgery for a hamstring tear, the club announced. Infielder Ramiro Pena has been designated to open a roster spot.

San Francisco will surely be glad to see Pence back in the lineup, as he was producing at a .298/.375/.486 clip before going down with the injury. There had been talk that the team might need to make a deal to fill in for Pence, but that doesn’t look to be necessary at this point. The Giants are still said to be looking into corner outfield additions, though. Adding offense would be the primary purpose, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to reduce the burden a bit on the 33-year-old veteran.

As for Pena, 31, the writing was probably on the wall when the Giants struck a deal to acquire Eduardo Nunez. With fellow infielders Matt Duffy and Ehire Adrianza also on the comeback trail, there just wasn’t space for the switch-hitter. He has actually been quite a useful fill-in, though, posting a quality .299/.330/.425 slash line in his 91 plate appearances on the year.

Dodgers Among Teams In Talks On Jay Bruce; Yasiel Puig May Be Involved

By Jeff Todd | July 29, 2016 at 8:08pm CDT

8:31pm: Morosi says the Rays are still a player; he tweets that the team could end up shipping out two starters, one to each of the two other teams.

It seems that the reason for the involvement of a third team is that Cinci prefers position-player prospects, per Heyman (via Twitter), while the Dodgers are somewhat more inclined to deal arms. Of course, an earlier report suggested that the Rays’ role could involve sending a pitcher to the Reds, so the entire situation still seems in flux at present.

8:08pm: Tampa Bay is actually not involved in any Dodgers-Reds scenarios, Stark tweets.

7:36pm: The Rays appear to be the potential third team, per a Morosi tweet. Tampa Bay has been chatting with Los Angeles about scenarios that “could link up” with the talks between the Reds and Dodgers.

7:23pm: Talks between the Reds and Dodgers involving Bruce and Puig “didn’t materialize,” according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). He adds, though, that there are other trade scenarios still being tossed around between the clubs.

6:59pm: Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig could be in play in the talks regarding Bruce, Stark tweets. He’d presumably be pushed out of a regular role if a significant corner outfielder is added, and Stark says that L.A. has been trying to move him in proposals with other teams.

6:24pm: The Reds and Dodgers could be putting together another three-team arrangement after joining up for such a deal over the winter, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets. Details — including the would-be facilitator — remain unclear, but Bruce would end up in Los Angeles if it comes to fruition.

5:46pm: The Dodgers remain in the hunt for Bruce, with MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweeting that there’s dialogue between the clubs and Jon Heyman of Fan Rag adding (via Twitter) that he has heard the same. Los Angeles isn’t keen on the idea of giving up much in the way of prospects to make a deal, though, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link).

Heyman also lists the Nationals, Orioles, Mariners, and Mets as teams with ongoing interest — many of whom have been tied to Bruce in recent days (if not for longer). Despite the report below suggesting that Seattle had left the Bruce market, Heyman’s report adds to another suggesting that he’s still in play. And while the Giants were also said to be out on Bruce, Nightengale tweets that they are still holding talks — even with Hunter Pence now set to return from the DL.

5:28pm: Two new entrants in the market have ratcheted up the bidding on Bruce, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The pair of mystery teams has been “aggressive,” per the report.

It remains somewhat difficult to guess where exactly the most focused interest could come from. Bruce, after all, would be a flexible addition for most AL contenders and could also fit with an NL team that is looking to add pop and has favorable scouting reports on his glove in right. With an added year of team control through an affordable-enough option, there’s also some future value — and the possibility of an offseason deal to return something different if Bruce isn’t needed past the present season in his new home.

2:16pm: The Mets are among the clubs that have spoken with the Reds about outfielder Jay Bruce, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Among the other teams in dialogue with Cincinnati are the Dodgers, Nationals, and Orioles, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick adds on Twitter.

New York’s level of interest isn’t too great at the moment, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). And Crasnick adds that the Nats and O’s appear to have their sights set on other areas at present. Likewise, we’ve heard that the Dodgers have engaged on a number of other possibilities, including Josh Reddick.

Two other potential suitors — the Giants and Mariners — “appear to be out,” according to Crasnick. With Seattle and San Francisco apparently no longer in pursuit, and none of the teams listed above appearing to represent aggressive pursuers, it’s not hard to see why Cincinnati president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty expressed frustration yesterday over the response that Bruce has drawn on the market.

Bruce has put up quite a nice season after two straight duds. And he comes with control rights for 2017; though his $13MM option isn’t cheap, it looks more appealing than committing a similar annual amount for a longer term to an alternative on the free agent market this winter.

It has seemed at various times that Bruce’s big power numbers, added year of control, and eminent availability would make him a desirable and quite likely trade candidate. But Jocketty suggested a deal isn’t inevitable for a player that the Reds value quite highly.

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